3 Things the Lakers Must Do in Game 3 to Get First Series Win

2. Increase Defensive Intensity & Force More Turnovers

So far in two games of the series, the Nuggets have 13 turnovers as opposed to the Lakers' 26. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, who handle the ball for Denver for the vast majority of the time, have combined five turnovers in two games. Both AD and LeBron individually have more turnovers than two of them combined.

That is a recipe for disaster. The Lakers need to start making the Nuggets less comfortable. Murray and Jokic can get in their actions without much resistance and defensive intensity. The star duo has a total of 32 assists so far and their two-man actions have been difficult to stop for the Lakers.

The Lakers need to be much more physical and intense. In these playoffs, the referees are generally letting the players play, not calling easy fouls. Los Angeles needs to take advantage of this and play with more contact and pressure, especially on the perimeter.

This is especially important because forcing turnovers means you get to go out in transition. The Lakers have struggled in the half-court offense all season, and that is continuing so far in these series. This team doesn't have the most dynamic offensive firepower, so they can't afford to play every offensive possession in a half-court situation. If they cranked up the defensive intensity and forced more turnovers, they could run more and create easy baskets for themselves.